Hostess CEO: Union Strike Could Threaten 18,500 Jobs

Hostess CEO: Union Strike Could Threaten 18,500 Jobs

A potential strike by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) may threaten the jobs of 18,500 employees at Hostess Brands, the company notes.

In a statement released on the union’s website back on Sept. 17, the group notes that a proposal between the union and the company was rejected by a 92% vote.

Hostess has been going through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with the company saying the changes they are trying to implement to the union’s collective bargaining rights are “essential to the company’s survival and its ability to exit Chapter 11,” Hostess’ CEO Gregory F. Rayburn noted in a release.

The company notes that the International Brotherhood of Teamsters accepted the changes, but the BCTGM rejected them on Sept. 14.

In their release, the BCTGM rejects the claim that the union misled its members about the possible consequences of rejecting the changes.

“Contrary to CEO Rayburn’s disingenuous and erroneous public comments, our members did not reject this proposal because of ‘bad information’ from the International Union. They rejected it because it was an outrageously unfair proposal from a company that has destroyed the trust of its workers through years of mismanagement, greed and unfulfilled promises,” BCTGM president Frank Hurt noted.

Hostess has noted that if a strike were to happen, plants, depots and retail stores will have to be closed – with some of them possibly closing forever.

With 69 locations in California, the strike could affect upwards of 1,700 employees locally. The union has not mentioned a possible strike date.